Where Is The Eminence Greasie

Edgar needs Greasie’s services desperately.

You remember that Eminence Greasie don’t you. He/she is the person who lives in the shadows and was the mastermind behind the E-machine that successfully in the past got Edgar (aka Eddie) elected as Mayor.

I have suggested recently that there must be a rift between Edgar and Greasie or alternatively Greasie is off on vacation in some spot that does not have contact with the outside world. I said that because some of the antics of the Mayor were so foolish that they never would have been allowed if Greasie was around. They still are.

Take the SLOTS fiasco which finally may have motivated Dwight Duncan, the Deputy Premier/Minister of Finance/local Windsor MPP to take off the gloves and put the boots to Edgar. (Don’t make fun because at one time your fingers were supposed to do the walking.)

Someone advised our brave Mayor that he should demand that unless the OLG reverses its position on closing down the Windsor Raceway SLOTS, then the Liberal Government should be overthrown. Such bravado required a Star Editorial denouncing him so you knew he was in big trouble.

What an absolutely dumb move that was. If there is a rift, then Greasie is laughing so hard today that his/her sides must be hurting. Whoever developed a strategy like that ought to be shown the revolving door at City Hall.

Poor Edgar. Perhaps the NDP don’t like him either and were happy to make their announcement to undercut him. As if the Government falling is going to happen when the NDP Leader just reneged on this key promise:

In other words, when push comes to shove, the Ontario NDP gets shoved out of the way. If it is a choice between the people of Ontario and not having an election so that her MPPs can enjoy the perks of Queen’s Park for a little bit longer, you know where the NDP Leader stands now.

What a tactical blunder by Edgar! Even if it is a game that he’s playing with Dwight, it has completely backfired on him.

The vibration heard downtown this afternoon was not from Zug Island but rather it was from Edgar’s knees knocking just before he made his phone call to the OLG CEO. That sound heard was not the Hum but rather the sound of Edgar backpedaling as quickly as possible.

Here are relevant excerpts from the CBC News story on April 19, 2012. It is now CBC that seems to be taking the lead on this story. The Star obviously has had it with Edgar as “Windsor’s hero” when he takes on the OLG of which its Head is the senior honcho at its Parent Company and when Paul Godfrey is coming down here in about a week. I have decided to add in my comments as well:

“Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis described a phone conversation with Ontario Lottery and Gaming CEO Rod Phillips as “positive…” [DUH. What did one expect him to say, that it was negative, that he accomplished nothing, that he looked like a fool for what he did at Council? Clearly, his so-called political move to make himself look important didn’t work out. On the contrary, it made him look extremely weak.]

“With regards to going back and reversing the decision, I don’t know if that’s going to happen,” Francis said…” [Of course it is not going to happen. OLG knows it. Dwight sure as heck knows it. Edgar knows it. I know it. And you know it too, dear reader. If this is what OLG wants to do in Windsor and at the other SLOTS locations, since billions of dollars are at stake in the gaming industry to help the Budget of Ontario, some small town Mayor is not going to stand in their way.]

“My focus right now is not about the dollars,” Francis said. “My primary focus … is dealing with those employees who have been affected.” [Sure, sure that is what his primary focus is. However, if he happens to get a few extra dollars out of OLG for his mind’s eye visions, well then who could knock that.

Strange though. What was his focus when eliminating City jobs and outsourcing? I thought it was saving money.

It really seems to me that this is the DRIC precedent all over again. Remember, the Greenlink people who lived along the terrible DRIC road whose health was going to suffer and who were let down for a few extra dollars for the City.]

“Francis said employees need the right type of training and support now that they are out of work.” [Thanks for stating the obvious. What will the City do to help them out?]

“I indicated to them that we’re working on a couple projects where there might opportunities,” Francis said.” [Oh Lord, when is this man going to stop doing this. These promises are sounding hollow already. There might be, there could be, estimated at, projected… how many more weasel words are going to be used. If there were such opportunities, why weren’t they mentioned at Edgar’s Sorry State of the City speech. He would have received a standing ovation in such a case.

Perhaps Edgar is going to have them work at a Comedy club with a joke like: how many SLOTS workers does it take to change a BYD LED fixture?]

“Francis would not provide details about those “opportunities.” [Absolutely. Are there any in the first place? We would not want to reveal all of this secret information so that other communities could take these jobs away from us. I suspect that other cities already are scrambling trying to figure out which medical isotope company may be coming here provided that there is no nuclear waste for terrorists to want to grab.]

“The mayor said he and OLG officials have agreed to meet face-to-face…

“The fact they’re willing to meet is positive,” Francis said.” [Sure, they want to squeeze Edgar too to make Dwight happy and to close the file on Windsor.]

Adelle Loiselle at Radio Station 95.9 had a slightly different take on this:

“Francis says he held his ground to ensure he’d have the opportunity to bring his concerns about 200 laidoff workers to the attention of OLG officials.” [I wish the cynics would not think that Edgar is using the 200 workers to negotiate more money for Windsor. Remember what Edgar said his primary focus was, please.]

“Windsor city council passed a motion calling on the province and the OLG to reverse their decision to move the slots, but Francis doubts it’ll happen. “They believe they have the background and the business experience to justify the decision that they made.” [OMG. The OLG had a secret weapon that stunned Edgar when he found out about it. It is something that he and Windsor Council seem to be unfamiliar with. It is a business case and business plan, something lacking for the Elitist pool as an example.]

So there you have it, dear reader. Edgar failed miserably and was made to look like a fool. Oh, he will get a few extra dollars. It was just a matter of negotiating that anyway. He will graciously accept whatever it is that OLG decides that they will give him and try to make it look as if he was successful. But as far as being able to say that he helped out those SLOTS workers and that he “retained jobs,” not a hope.

Moreover, his poor judgment in this incident may also turn out to mark the end of his PC provincial political career as well. It is hardly the stuff that Cabinet Ministers to be are made of.